New Corsair contraption controls fans, temps, LEDs

There's a new product out from Corsair today, and it's something a little unusual for the company. The Commander Mini isn't a slick-looking case or a memory kit with flashy heatsinks. Rather, it's meant to operate discreetely inside your PC. There, the Commander Mini can power lights, fans, and "other Corsair devices"—and allow for both monitoring and control via Corsair's Link Dashboard software.

The Commander Mini has six fans headers, four temperature probe headers (for use with bundled thermistor cables), four Corsair Link Digital ports, and a connector for Corsair Link LED light strips. It draws power from a SATA connector (no need to dig up an old Molex cord), and for data, it simply hooks up to a USB 2.0 header on your mobo.

Once it's set up, the Commander Mini can monitor everything from fan speeds and ambient temperatures to coolant temperature in Corsair Link-enabled liquid coolers. The contraption also lets you "manage fan speeds individually, set up customized cooling profiles, or program fans to respond to changes in ambient or component temperature." You can even configure LED lighting to change color based on the cooling profile in use—or to "relay critical system information," Corsair says.

All the monitoring and control happens with the Corsair Link Dashboard software, which runs from the Windows desktop. Corsair claims the software offers "more advanced control and expansion options" than motherboard firmware.

The Commander Mini is available right now for $59.99 via Corsair's website. That seems a tad pricey for a fan controller, but then again, I suppose few fan controllers can pull off the same feats as this thing.